Day 54 - Baroque Northern Europe Recap

The term "Baroque" was meant in some ways to be an insult or at least a way thinking that the art and architecture that was coming out of the time after the Renaissance as inferior.  I'm sure it must have seemed so after such a flourishing of artistic ideas and after a time that saw some of the greatest artistic geniuses of all time during the century before.  But advancements were being made and even if the flavor was not as sweet, the results spurred development on and many artists during this time were thought to be predecessors to the modern art we know today.

The Treaty of Westfalia in 1648 essentially granted religious freedom to Europe, allowing people to choose their religion freely.  The idea of a united Christian Europe was no longer thought possible and secular political systems were accepted as a necessity of life.  There was a heightened economic race to provide goods and trade, since advancements in shipbuilding during the last century made it possible to reach out to the world.  With the increase in trade there was an increase in knowledge and exchange of artistic and architectural techniques and styles, especially in Europe, creating a melding of influences.  The resulting disposable income among the new wealthy traders allowed a new class of Northern Europeans to buy art and expanded the number of patrons that artists could access. The secular wealth can be seen in the resulting art which becomes much more secular, religious ideas are still explored, but genre and landscapes become the dominant explorations. 

During the 17th century Holland experienced a period called the Dutch Golden Age of painting which was fueled by the explosion of international trade and the strength of the banking center of European banking, the Bank of Amsterdam established in 1609.  Flemish Baroque painters (Ruebens,Van Dyck) kept within the Catholic style of painting, while Dutch painters (Rembrandt, Cuyp, Vermeer) developed subject matters and styles free from this association - although not all Dutch art was devoid of religious subject matter (Brugghens, Rembrandt).

Aelbert Cuyp, The Valkhof At Nijmegen From The Northwest (c. 1650)
Aelbert Cuyp was a Dutch painter who painted idyllic settings of pastoral
scenes showing water ways, cows, shepherds, and daily life beautifully
back-lit with brilliant skies, carefully documenting the landmarks and countryside.

References:

1. Gardner's Art Through the Ages, A Global History, 13th ed., by Fred S. Kleiner - Chapter 25
2. http://nystudios.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/aelbert-cuyp/